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Life jacket in the water of the English Channel (symbolic image)
Photo: GONZALO FUENTES / REUTERS
At least five people died when a boat carrying refugees capsized in the English Channel off Calais.
The crew of a French Navy boat saw about 15 people floating in the water off the coast of Calais on Wednesday afternoon, said the Interior Ministry in Paris.
Five of them were found dead.
Several shipwrecked people were taken on board by the navy, some of them unconscious.
There is great concern at the drama when the boat capsized, said France's Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.
He will travel to the place of misfortune.
"It cannot be stressed enough how criminal the smugglers who organize these crossings are," Darmanin said.
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ptz / dpa / AFP